


Two Rings. One Love.

by ByTheAngell (SomeLittleInfamy)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 3x20, Angst and Feels, Happy Ending, M/M, POV Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 04:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18652702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeLittleInfamy/pseuds/ByTheAngell
Summary: “We can only fight them off for so long. The demons will keep coming back unless we seal the rift. It’s the only way to keep you all safe.” Alec knows that tone, the grim determination of Magnus’ declaration. Magnus has a plan and there’s no talking him out of it.But Alec watched Magnus leave him once before with words left unsaid. He isn’t going to make that mistake again.---(a 3x20 Alec POV)





	Two Rings. One Love.

**Author's Note:**

> 3x20 spoilers!

Alec has a moment of hesitation after Magnus admits to knowing about the deal, a moment where he fears that the moment he touches Magnus again, the moment they embrace, Magnus’ magic will be gone and it will be Alec’s fault all over again because he’s too weak to stay away. He’s not strong enough to sacrifice their relationship twice when he could barely survive the first time. 

He does it anyway. He closes the space between them before Magnus can finish the sentence he’s in the middle of, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket as if reaching out for a life preserver, something to keep him afloat in the overwhelming currents of emotion that threaten to drown him. The touch grounds him, Magnus’ arms wrapping around his waist, Alec’s own grip a mirror of the first time Magnus barged into a place he had no right being in and saved his life. 

And now Magnus is doing it again. He shouldn’t be here - not with Alec, not in Alicante. But he is… as much for Alec as for himself. And for the second time, Magnus’ kiss gives Alec a reason to hold on a little bit longer. A reason to imagine a future worth fighting for. 

And just as quickly it’s gone. The sword is destroyed. Alec sees the fear in Clary’s eyes, the resignation in Jace’s, and the hopelessness in Izzy’s. As selfish as it is, Alec’s thankful that at least in their final moments he has this. He has  _ them _ . He won’t have to go out thinking Magnus hates him or doubts his love, and it’s almost enough. It’s certainly better than the alternative. And then....

“...Edom?” 

No. He can’t. 

_ He can’t.  _

_ “ _ Magnus, don’t.” Alec just got him back, he won’t lose him again. 

Alec almost wishes that Magnus still thought he hated him. At least then he wouldn’t be here, ready and willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good… for  _ Alec’s  _ good… again. This is Jace and the Owl all over again, and Alec realizes with an ache in his chest that he’s sick and tired of the two of them going back and forth as martyrs for one another. Why must love be a sacrifice? Why can’t they just have each other, for once, and be happy? 

“We can only fight them off for so long. The demons will keep coming back  _ unless _ we seal the rift. It’s the only way to keep you all safe.” Alec knows that tone, the grim determination of Magnus’ declaration. Magnus has a plan and there’s no talking him out of it. 

But Alec watched Magnus leave him once before with words left unsaid. He isn’t going to make that mistake again. 

“Magnus you can’t. There’s something I had to do, there’s-- there’s something I had to say…” Alec curses himself silently for stumbling over his words, for the tears that prickle behind his eyelids before he can even form a full sentence. He spent  _ hours _ going over his speech in his head, picking the perfect words, planning the perfect evening. It certainly wasn’t in the middle of Alicante with demons screeching in the background raining hellfire upon the home of his people. And it certainly wasn’t stuttering his way over something so simple, so honest, that it overwhelms him with how much one emotion, one _ person _ , can take up such a large part of himself. 

This is wrong. This isn’t what Magnus deserves. He deserves dinner and flowers and music and candles… he deserves the world. The world he’s so willing to sacrifice himself for. 

“I know.” Magnus says, before Alec has much time to dwell on his own fumbling thoughts. But how could he? Minutes ago he thought that Alec hated him, and even if he knows about the deal with Asmodeus how could he possibly know about what Alec planned to say before, and what he’s trying (and failing miserably) to say now?  

“Needless to say, you forgot something back in New York.” The sentence barely registers, because what did anything back in New York matter right now when-- 

\--a ring. And, with the wave of his hand, a second ring to match. 

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood, will you marry me?” 

And just like that the world falls into place around him. He knows. There are no perfect words, no need for practiced speeches or picturesque settings. Just Magnus. It’s all he’s ever needed. It’s all he’ll ever need. Magnus is there to fill in every blank and catch him when he falls, every single time. Why should now be the exception? 

“Only if you’ll marry me, too.” 

No grand gestures. No epic speeches. Just two sentences. Two rings.    
  
One promise.

One love. 

**Author's Note:**

> ( Find me on [Tumblr](http://bytheangell.tumblr.com) and also on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/By_The_Angell) while we all hang out waiting for someone to #SaveShadowhunters ! <3)


End file.
